Attempts: 1948, 1952, 1956

Olympic Connection: Out of the 11 Minnesotan athletes representing Team USA at the London 2012 Olympics, seven of them call Minneapolis home, most notable being Kevin Love, power forward for the Minnesota Timberwolves basketball team and their leading scorer for the 2011-2012 season, and Seimone Augustus, a member of the U.S. women’s basketball team that won the gold medal at the 2008 Beijing Olympics.    

Get Your Sports Fix: Voted the “Fittest City in America” by the American Fitness Index, Minneapolis has a wealth of recreational facilities, with 180 parks, 50 miles of jogging and biking paths (we voted Minneapolis one of our Top 10 Cities for Cycling), and more baseball fields, gyms, and tennis courts than the national average. Most prominent, however, are its extensive water bodies, which lend Minneapolis its nickname the “City of Lakes.” To experience its waters, Wheel Fun Rentals on Lake Calhoun has rental kayaks, pedal boats, paddle boards, and canoes from $11, while Paradise Charter Cruises offers paddleboat tours on the Mississippi River at $18 for adults and $10 for children between 2 and 12 years.  

Gold-Medal Attractions: Follow the life of Rembrandt van Rijn through his masterpieces in “Rembrandt in America,” on display at the Minneapolis institute of Arts until September 16. Billed as “the largest number of authentic paintings by the famous Dutch master ever assembled in the United States,” the exhibit showcases 50 examples of Rembrandt’s lifework, from the Lucretia, a visceral portrait of Rembrandt’s lover, to rarely seen paintings from various private collections. General entrance into the museum is free, but the exhibit charges $12 for adults and $8 for children between 6 and 12 years.